King Harold
King Harold (simply known as Harold) is the late husband of Queen Lillian, the late father of Princess Fiona, the late father-in-law of Shrek, and the servant of the Fairy Godmother and Prince Charming. He serves as the false secondary antagonist of Shrek 2 (but he reforms at the end of the film), a minor character in Shrek the Third, and a posthumous protagonist in Shrek Forever After. He is voiced by John Cleese who also played Jean-Bob and Ape. History Shrek 2 King Harold makes his debut in Shrek 2. When his daughter Fiona arrives at the castle with her new husband, he is surprised that they are both ogres. King Harold had secretly made a promise to the Fairy Godmother that her son Prince Charming would marry Fiona. King Harold hires Puss in Boots to assassinate Shrek. King Harold then succumbs to guilt when Fiona finds out that Shrek is not around. Harold at first refuses when the Fairy Godmother asks him to give the love potion to Fiona that will cause her to fall in love with Prince Charming, because he recoils from this invasion of her free will, but he is forced to acquiesce by some dark threat of disclosure; in the event, when Fiona states that she loved the old Shrek (rather the 'new' one that Prince Charming is pretending to be), Harold swaps the cup which contains the potion for his own. At the ball toward the end of the film, Shrek is about to defeat Harold and the Fairy Godmother with help from his friends in order to save Fiona. However, Harold becomes good and protects Shrek from a blast of magic from the Fairy Godmother's wand she used in order to get revenge on him for taking Fiona away from Charming, his armor causes the blast to reflect and kill the Fairy Godmother. Afterwards, the king emerges from his suit of armor, now reverted to his original frog prince form by the blast. The wife seems not at all unhappy about this turn of events. After this, he apologizes to Shrek and accepts him into the family, his wife saying that he is more of a man for accepting Shrek and Fiona's marriage than he ever was when he was actually human. Shrek the Third King Harold makes a minor appearance in the third film in his death bed. Shrek does not want his father-in-law's crown; aside from not willing to give up his beloved swamp, he also doesn't think he's qualified enough to be a king. With his dying breath, Harold gives Shrek the name of the other possible heir: Fiona's cousin Artie. Shrek Forever After Harold and Lillian make a flashback cameo trying to wager a deal with Rumplestilskin (who wanted Harold's crown so he could so he could rule Far Far Away). At the last instant, the king and queen are informed that Shrek had saved Fiona from the keep; rendering Rumpel's deal pointless. Gallery King Harold Human.jpg 7E7B601C-D84B-411F-A4BF-E80331B23186.png|Harold's redemption and Big "No!" C5F756BD-0934-48F3-82B8-F741AE899825.png|Harold's death, as he passes away from his illness. Trivia *Although he is thought to the main antagonist, The Fairy Godmother is the true villain of the movie, since Harold only wanted what he thought was best for Fiona while Fairy Godmother was just power hungry. *Harold has an Unexplained Recovery after the Fairy Godmother persumedly killed him as punishment for his Heel–Face Turn while saving Shrek at the final battle, but turned him into a frog in order to betray him. *James Woods, Brian Dennehy, and Christopher Lloyd were all considered for the role of King Harold. Navigation Category:Deceased Category:Cartoon Heroes Category:Movie Heroes Category:Shrek Heroes Category:Incompetent Category:Servant of a Villain Category:Male Category:Monarchs Category:Tragic Category:On & Off Category:Parody/Homage Category:Charismatic Category:Stock Characters Category:Good Vs. Good Category:Lawful Neutral Category:Elderly Category:Spouses Category:Parents Category:Right-Hand Category:Leaders Category:Cowards Category:Martyr Category:Mentor Category:Insecure Category:Heroic Liars Category:Aristocrats Category:Benevolent Rulers Category:Rebellion Heroes Category:Wealthy Category:Reluctant Heroes Category:Egomaniacs Category:Paranoid Category:Control Freaks Category:Wise Category:Lethal Category:Fantasy Heroes Category:Guardians Category:Obsessed Category:Comedy Heroes Category:Unwanted Category:Predecessor Category:Loyal Category:Virtually Resourceful Category:Retired Category:Defectors Category:Anti Hero Category:Posthumous Category:Redeemed Villains Category:False Antagonist Category:Friend of a Villain Category:Heroic Jerks Category:Honorable Category:Animals